Food

As what we can learn from our previous post about kibi-dango, the kibi-dango we can buy from souvenir stores nowadays is different from the original kibi-dango that uses millet as its main ingredient.
The Kibi-dango that you can usually buy as a souvenir in Okayama.…

A trip however short or long it may be won’t be complete if you can’t sample the taste of the local food of the place you’re visiting. While in Nagasaki, we made it a point to sample their local dishes and delicacies.…

With the largest lake in Japan, Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture is blessed with food and water resources. Here’s some of the local specialties of Shiga Prefecture in no particular order.
Local Specialties of Shiga Prefecture
Omi-gyu (Omi Beef)
Omi Beef (Photo courtesy of Ryosuke Hosoi)
Together with Matsusaka Ushi and Kobe Beef, Omi/Ohmi Beef is considered one of the “Japan’s Top Three Wagyu (Japanese Beef).” Omi Beef bears a 400-year of history.…

Anime, though often exaggerated, is a portrayal of real life. In some anime, the creators make it as relatable to the audience through using real-life food. The most common among them would be Japanese cuisine like sushi, curry, and ramen. In this post, we will feature other popular foods and snacks that are usually seen in anime and how they made it more popular.…

The temperature is getting cold and it’s finally autumn. Talking about autumn, there is a common term in Japanese, “aki no mikaku.” “Aki” stands for autumn and “mikaku” is taste, which actually refers to “autumn food.” When you say autumn food, first thing that comes up to my mind is “sanma”, a Pacific saury fish.…

The Japanese fox (Vulpes vulpes), as mentioned in the first part of this feature, is a common topic in Japanese myths and legends. Continuing our discussion about the kitsune, we will feature one of its known ability: human possession.
Kitsune’s Human Possession
Kitsune is able to possess humans.…

When you say Naoshima as a tourist one would automatically think of its most famous landmarks, the big red or yellow pumpkins you would find by its shore. But more than this two landmarks, it is home to a collection of world renowned contemporary art galleries and exhibits.…

In almost every Japanese-style set meal you order in restaurants in Japan, you always have the Miso Soup (味噌汁 – misoshiru). It is a traditional Japanese soup that is basically made up of a stock called dashi and miso. It has other ingredients depending on regional and seasonal recipes, or your personal choice.…

As you may know already, Japan offers a wide variation of snacks. So, it’s not unusual to find snacks with wasabi flavor. And, for those who are into wasabi, just like me, it’s just hard to ignore them.
Wasabi Flavored Snacks in Japan
Here are some of the wasabi snacks that I found at supermarkets and convenience stores in Japan:
Wasabeef (わさビーフ) potato chips from Yamayoshi Seika
Wasabeef BIG size
This one is available throughout the year at the price of 120 yen for regular size (60g) and 198 yen for the bigger one (113g).…

On my first visit to Tokyo we visited Tsukishima district famous for monjyayaki – it is so famous that there is a street filled with stores that serve this famous kanto specialty. So what exactly is monjyayaki or monjya as it is popularly known.…